10 Facts about Millennials to Make Your Business More Attractive

Millennials. They’re the next generation of buying power shaping the payments industry, much like the Yuppies of the 80s and the hippies of the 70s. Following their shopping habits means staying on trend with the payments technology they’re using – from mobile, to wearable, to likely even biometric, in the future.

But making your business attractive to millennials doesn’t necessarily capture this important demographic. We surveyed 1000 U.S. small business owners and shoppers to gauge their overall opinion of today’s payments landscape in our 2018 Payments Landscape Report. We asked them about their thoughts on payments security, their preferred payment method, and where they see making payments in the year 2020. Here’s a mashup of our research and research from other industry organizations to give you some tips on targeting the millennial market.

They’re born between 1980-2000. The oldest of the bunch are approaching 35 this year.

They’re the largest generation – even larger than Baby Boomers.

They’re digital natives, meaning they’re the first generation to grow up in a computer-driven society.

They’re social and connected, and access their accounts from multiple devices.

They make less than previous generations, factoring inflation.

They want maximum convenience at lowest price.

They have lots of debt. Mostly student loans.

Their priorities are different from their parents and grandparents. Marriage and home ownership can wait.

They do, however, want to be financially independent.

They value access over ownership

What this means to you:

Are you mobile yet? Our research shows that 15% of millennials say they make most their purchases using mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. This means more businesses are offering mobile as a payment option – 12% per our research. Jumio, a digital verification software company, also surveyed 700 millennials in North America, UK, Central Europe and Australia and found 92.5% use mobile to access financial services. 93% use mobile from traditional banks for checking current accounts, and 14% for credit cards. That means with as many millennials managing their money, both in and out, from their mobile devices, you are missing a huge selling opportunity if you don’t accept mobile payments.

Remember the digital native thing? You’ve got to get the experience right. They’re mobile, social and connected, which means your website should be as well. Are your web pages responsive to mobile devices? Is your business connected and active on social media? How intuitive and easy is your checkout process? That’s a big one. Jumio’s research shows 93.5% of millennials have abandoned a transaction on their mobile. Most trouble comes from payment pages, so check out our 9 things to consider when choosing a payment gateway <link> for detailed tips on that.

They still like cash – for now. Our research shows 88.7% of millennials still carry cash as a preferred payment method, but still see mobile wallets as being the most popular payment method by 2020. This means this is the perfect time for you to get ahead of the trend.